


War Makes Monsters of Men

by Les_MiserableAtBest



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2018-08-19 20:08:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 7,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8223296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Les_MiserableAtBest/pseuds/Les_MiserableAtBest
Summary: Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan went to rescue the chancellor, but never made it home. An explosion stopped the mission and ended the war.





	1. Ahsoka

 

_ I have lost you and in doing so I have lost a piece of myself as well. _

The Chancellor is dead.

Count Dooku is dead. 

General Grievous is dead.

Jedi Masters Shaak Ti and Obi-Wan Kenobi are presumed dead.

Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker is presumed dead.

The war is over.

And Ahsoka Tano finds herself walking into the senator of Naboos office on Coruscant, tears filling her eyes. 

Padmè stood facing out the window, not bothering to turn around for Ahsoka. Ahsoka feels her pain through the force, almost screaming at her and she knows(she's always known) that the senator is mourning more than the loss of a friend. Ahsoka doesn't know what to say, what can she say? Nothing that will make anyone feel better. She can't send a calming force presence, her emotions are too clouded. She does all she can-she embraces Padme and the women weep together. 

* * *

 

_ It is difficult, when faced with a situation you cannot control, to admit you can do nothing. Lemony Snicket _

The world does not seem as changed as she thinks it should be. The sun still shines, the senate still meets, the food in the mess hall is terrible. It hurts Ahsoka to see this.

‘Don’t they know? Don’t they realize that it is not the same, it will never be the same again’ 

Ahsoka is officially Padme’s bodyguard.

Unofficially she is her partner in mourning, helping prepare for the birth. Doing what Anakin couldn’t. Both women knew Anakin was the father, neither said anything, except once.

“I won’t let them take it you know. The baby. Enough lives have been ruined already.” Padme smiles softly at this and reaches for Ahsoka’s hand.

“I know.”

* * *

 

_ I can hear ‘I love you’ a million ways and the sweetest will be from you. _

It has been three months.

Mon Mothma is chancellor.

Everyone accepts that the galaxy’s favorite duo is gone.

Except Ahsoka.

“Our bond isn’t gone! It’s there which means he’s alive!” She argues to the council. Nobody listens except Rex. Her truest friend. Padme has all the clones assimilated into the real world-any life they choose. There are clones all over the universe, but Rex stays.

“The commander needs me.” Is his only answer.

Padme is on Naboo for the week-or longer. She is preparing a home for the baby. She gives Ahsoka time off, maybe she thinks time away from Coruscant and constant reminders of Anakin will help her move on. 

‘Well, if that’s the case she is about to be very disappointed.’ Ahsoka muses to herself. She and Rex are on a mission. They fly to the place where the ship exploded, wreckage everywhere. The force sings to her there, telling her there is still life. 

She finds the answer to the call from the force-an escape pod floating through the debris.

A jedi can survive for a long time in a state of stasis, achieved through meditation. Her heart fills with hope as they load the escape pod in their ship.

She senses life, it’s not her Master’s force signature, but she still hopes.

Inside there is an unconscious, thin and ragged bearded man.

Ahsoka gasps.

“Master Obi-Wan?”


	2. Chapter Two: Rex

 

_ If you ever ask me how many times you’ve crossed my mind I would say once, because you came once and never left. _

He promised the General he’d take care of Ahsoka. He would not let his General down. 

He didn’t entirely know why he felt such undying loyalty to this girl, but he thought that must have been it.

‘That was a lie and you know it.’ Says the voice in his head. 

The General had asked in the very beginning, not long after the girl arrived.

And Rex had not let this promise slide.

‘Another lie- you failed her.’ 

He grimaced.

‘We  _ all  _ failed her.’ 

The bombing at the Jedi temple left it’s mark on the 501st. The General was never quite the same, but then again, neither was Rex. How could they be? Now he stands in a ship in deep space trying his damndest to stay calm. If he panics she’ll panic. 

“General Kenobi will be fine, sir.” He tells her, not fully knowing if he believes it. “He will receive the best care as soon as we return to the temple.” 

She hugs him, the embrace a comfort for them both.

“Thank you Rex.” 

“Anytime sir.”

 

_ If it takes a war for us to have met it will have been worth it. -Hamilton _

Ahsoka was a lot like General Skywalker. 

She wore her heart on her sleeve.

She was surprisingly bright.

An amazing duelist.

Most importantly, she worried like him. 

Whereas Jedi like General Kenobi would meditate or even pace while worrying for a loved one, Commander Tano, like her master would instead train. Her master also had a tendency to tinker with machines and droids, but she did not have his skill. 

So it was not surprising in the least to find Ahsoka Tano kicking serious ass in the training yard. 

It was slightly surprising when she disappeared for three hours and had created an entire nursery for the Senators’ unborn child. 

(And Anakins’. She reminds him constantly. ‘It’s a piece of him.’) 

Rex did not spend his time scaring padawns or preparing for a baby. 

He waited in the Med Bay, listening for every scrap of information he could find.

The General was malnourished, though that wasn’t a surprise.

He should wake soon and Rex intended to be there when he did. 

Senator Amidala planned to return as soon as he awakens, to grill him on Anakin more than likely.

Rex did not envy the Jedi master. That senator is a force to be reckoned with. 


	3. Chapter Three: Padme

_ The mind of a queen is a thing to fear. _

She was glad Obi-Wan Kenobi was alive, she really was. He was a good Jedi and a good friend. However she couldn’t help but feel disappointed it wasn’t Anakin in the pod. 

(She knew this was normal of course-he was her husband)

Still she was a diplomat and hid it well. She sat by his side now, two days after he had awoken, Captain Rex in the corner. Obi-Wan had not spoken to anyone but Master Yoda since he had awoken. 

Whatever he said to the Grand Master it was top secret.

She  _ was  _ going to find out. 

“It appears I’ve missed quite a lot.” He says to her, gesturing to her stomach. 

She smiles.

“I suppose I must look like a bantha now.” A little small to break the ice was never a bad idea.

“You look lovely as always senator.” She smiles again, Obi-Wan was ever the gentlemen. “I do suppose you want to know what happened.” 

“Yes.” He sighed.

“I have a message. From Anakin. It will have to wait. I need time to process everything and….. It is a secret Padme. We should be alone.” 

“Meet me in my office as soon as you are released.”

_ I care about you very much. Your happiness is all I’ve thought about for a very long time. _

“It’s a girl! C’mon I can just  _ feel  _ it. Anikana Junior.” Padme laughs.

“I’m not naming my child that. Besides I’m fairly certain it’s a boy.  _ Oof  _ there he goes again, kicking his mommy.” She places Ahsoka’s hands on her expanded belly.

“Woah! A kick like that, it’s totally a girl.” Ahsoka says with a laugh. Padme grins.

“I’m not so sure. Call it my motherly intuition.” 

_ The laws of the universe say the man I love is lost to me. I say watch me save him. _

It was two weeks after she had last spoken to Obi-Wan that he finally came to her door. 

He explained to her that it was a complicated situation that he barely understood himself. 

“I don’t care. Tell me.”

And so he leaned down and whispered the truth in her ear. All of it.

And then he left her there, standing in shock.

There was no more he could say-no more he could do. 

A tear falls down her cheek and before she knows it she can no longer hold back tears.

Anakin has been gone for almost 5 months and yet she had never truly mourned, not when she  _ knew  _ in her heart he could and would return to her. Not when a war had just ended and it was her job to clean up the mess. 

And now the tears could no longer be held back. 

She wept for hours.

And when she was done she dried her eyes and found Ahsoka.

She was a queen after all. 

And she had a plan.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliff-hanger DUNH DUN DUNNNN


	4. Chapter Four: Anakin

_ It is a fitting punishment for a monster to want something so much, to hold it in your arms and know, without a doubt you will never deserve it.  _

The worst ghost he faced was his daughter. 

Mortis was a strange place, made of the Force. In many ways it  _ was  _ the force.

And Anakin did not entirely enjoy his time there. 

Yet here he was again, though this time it was different.

He was the Chosen One after all, and this was his training ground.

It was a lot to take in. The Force Ghosts were a lot to handle, the vision quests even more difficult, and oh the  _ riddles  _ they were enough to drive him mad.

The worst was his time with the Son.

He had four main teachers here on Mortis and all of them were dead; the Father who taught him of his destiny, the Daughter who taught him the Light Side of the Force, Qui-Gon who taught him true balance of the Gray Jedi, and the Son who taught him of the Dark Side.

He saw terrible things in the Dark Side. Terrible visions of what he did. 

And the worst things he saw were of his daughter. 

When the Son showed him a vision of her as a slave for Jabba his heart stopped.

(Later the Daughter showed him what happened after-when Leia strangles Jabba and he nearly cries with pride)

He destroys his children. He destroys his wife. He destroys the Senate. He destroys Obi-Wan. 

He even destroys himself. 

Qui-Gon tells him the future is not certain, that it changes constantly.

He is shown a future where he has only one grandson, a child named for Obi-Wan who does terrible things. He is shown another future with a beautiful redheaded daughter-in-law. He still cannot stand himself. 

 

_ I am not afraid of the dark, I am more afraid of not finding the light once again. _

 

Anakin dreams.

Of Padme and Ahsoka and everything he cannot have.

He has visions of certain things and it hurts him more than it comforts. 

“I know you miss them Anakin. You made a choice, you have to be here.” Anakin responds with a groan.

“I sometimes think you were right Master,” He begins. “I should have left Padme alone. All I do is bring destruction and pain.” 

“You can’t change the past.” Anakin sighs and stares at the astral projection of his former master.

“Obi-Wan?”

“Yes?”

“You will see my wife before I will. I need you to pass something along to her. And tell Ahsoka…..Tell her I’m sorry. I failed her. The  _ order  _ failed her, but soon I will fix it.”

“Anakin. You didn’t fail her.” 

“I did. And Master?”

“Yes my padawn?”

“I’ll find you. Complete your mission, bring Snips.”

 

_ Sometimes gods make mistakes. I have known one that did.  _

The thing that plagued Anakin Skywalker his entire life was the Force. No other Jedi could quite understand this plight. Anakin was  _ always  _ a part of the Force. He never had a moment of silence from it. Except on Mortis, where the turmoil ended, where it was peaceful.

(He wonders if that is why gods remain in heaven) 

He has control over every little bit of the Force now.

Now he can  _ control  _ it, as if it were another limb. The Force is a part of him, always. 

That is how he sent Ahsoka to find Obi-Wan. 

Soon he would be ready. 

He would bring balance to the Force, and the galaxy would be at true peace. The peace of Mortis would be everywhere. 

But he was ready to go home.

He missed his wife.

He would sacrifice the galaxy for her, but after seeing visions of their children, even their grandchildren, he knew he would rather hurt her now, by his absence, than risk the future of their children. 


	5. Obi-Wan

_ You are so brave, so quiet. I forget sometimes you are suffering.  _

It all began on Mortis.

That’s when Anakin changed-he became distant. He had bags under his eyes that implied he hadn’t been sleeping well.

Still Obi-Wan said nothing of it, there was a war going on after all and a good night’s sleep was hard to come by for everyone. And besides, his former padawan was never good at sharing his feelings.

It was when Ahsoka left that Anakin really changed. 

He was quicker to anger, though his temper had always been short. 

It was then, after the incident with Ahsoka, that Anakin lost faith with the Order. 

He could not imagine quite how difficult it was for his former padawn to experience that. 

(Though in his heart Obi-Wan feared that Anakin had only lost faith in him)

* * *

 

_ When you forget that which you stood for, you are gone. You are nothing. _

Obi-Wan had not initially wanted the slave boy from Tatooinne to become a padawn. His motives were selfish of course, he hadn’t wanted to lose Qui-Gon as a master. And he  _ really  _ didn’t want to fight the council.

But then his master died, cut down by a Sith. So Obi-Wan took in the boy, even fighting the council to do so. And he grew to love this boy.

(In his dreams he screams these words, his voice filled with pain. “You were my brother Anakin! I loved you.)

But it didn’t matter.

He failed. Again.

He failed to save his master.

He failed to protect Ahsoka.

He failed to save Satine.

On Mortis he had learned that he failed Anakin too.

If the Force had not intervened, had not called to Anakin, he would have failed. 

Anakin was tormented by visions leading up to their return to Mortis.

Obi-Wan’s former padawn had never been a model Jedi. He was quick to anger, often ruled by his emotions, and struggled greatly with attachment. Obi-Wan blamed himself for this-it was his shortcomings as a master after all. 

But those months before Anakin had not been himself. He was a good Jedi. Calm, distant, he even meditated. But it was clear that he was very troubled; he was especially closed off, never sharing.

Of course in hindsight it was because he was hiding something.

Everything changed when they were supposed to rescue the chancellor.

When they returned to Mortis.

* * *

 

_ The sky’s gonna hurt when it falls, better start building some walls.  _

Now he had returned to the Temple. He was still recovering from the past few months, so he could not do much.

He was avoiding the council.

Avoiding the other Jedi Masters.

Nothing would ever be the same again. 

How could it? 

He stayed in a small apartment that Padme had put up for Rex and Ahsoka.

(He was slightly scandalised when he heard they were roommates)

Ahsoka, Rex, and Padme were the only ones he could trust. 

Ahsoka was also betrayed by the Order.

Obi-Wan had never truly lost faith in them, not like Ahsoka and Anakin had.

Now he knew.

The Jedi  _ were  _ corrupt. They were peacekeepers, never meant to fight a war.

(Though he knew in his heart the corruption had come long before that.)

As Obi-Wan looked at his little family he had found, Ahsoka teasing Rex, Padme speaking of peace and baby clothes, he wondered if attachment was so bad after all. 

The Jedi did not know love, they did know the true peace of loving and being loved, so how could they keep peace? 

Satine had loved him.

He had loved her.

If he had what Anakin had, with the woman he loved, he knows he would have lost faith much sooner. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I do not think Obi-Wan is a failure FYI i just think he probs thought of himself like that! Also next chapter is a flashback. Will we finally learn what happened on Mortis? Will Anakin ever return? Stay tuned to find out


	6. Flashback I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA: Anakin angst

_ All heroes are broken beyond repair and all villains are just heroes who chose truth over dare. _

* * *

 

The thing about Anakin Skywalker was that he was a slave. Not a former slave, as he always told himself, but a slave. He has never been  _ just  _ a person. Except to her.

To Padme he had been a kind little boy.

He had been a friend and protector. A lover. A husband. 

A  _ person _ . 

And he loved her for it. 

He was a slave.

To destiny.

To the Force.

To the Jedi. 

(How could he be free when he calls them  _ Master _ ?)

The thing about Anakin Skywalker is that he wasn’t important all the time. He was important to the council when he was The Chosen One, and as a General to a Clone Army.

(More slaves. Created just to serve, to die for someone else’s war.)

He knows Obi-Wan thinks things changed because of Mortis, or because of Ahsoka.

Things changed with Padme. 

And with the death of his mother, the only other person to love him wholly and unconditionally.

Padme was the one who tried to teach him he wasn’t a commodity.

That he was human.

That he wasn’t a thing. 

He tried to teach it to Ahsoka, but how could he succeed? He couldn’t save her. He couldn’t save anyone in the end.

Anakin had visions all his life.

The day he met Sebula he had a vision where Sebula lost; where a little slave beat a ruthless thug.

The day before he met Padme Amidala he saw her in a lace white dress.

(“Are you an angel?” He asks, still seeing her all in white.)

Months after he takes on Ahsoka he sees her leaving him.

His heart breaks on every mission, hoping it isn’t her last. 

And when he was on Mortis he learned terrible things.

Which brought him to now. 

He was supposed to be rescuing the chancellor.

The Sith Lord that had treated him like nothing but a pawn in his game. 

Instead he knocked his former master out and sat cross-legged four feet in the air.

In his mind he searched the ship for something he could exploit.

The ship was destroyed.

He was disconnected from the council.

His own ship landed safely on Mortis, which all but erased his force signature.

“C’mon Artoo,” He says, returning to the floor of his ship. “Let’s get Obi-Wan. We got a lot of work to do.”


	7. Padme II

_ Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. -Neil Gaiman  _

She knows she is dreaming. She knows because she is not heavily pregnant, she knows because Anakin is there. 

She is on Tatooine. A place that puts fear into her heart. 

A planet where a piece of her husband died.

She is not really there though, she figures this out soon enough, she is noncorporeal, just a gentle observer. She is back at the Lars’ farm, though it belongs to Owen and Beru now and they have greatly aged since she saw them last. There is a boy there, so very young. He looks like Anakin did, all those years ago, when she was still queen. It cannot be Anakin though, she knows. 

“Luke!” Beru calls and she turns in time with the boy. 

“Coming Aunt Beru!” The boy responds.

Padme frowns in recognition, putting a hand to her stomach.

_ I knew it was a boy.  _ She thinks. 

The scene changes and she is in a cold place.

Everything is black or gray. Metallic. But the boy is there again, older now.

And man. Or a machine?

She cannot tell, only can tell that he is terrifying.

The boy calls the monster Father and Padme loses her breath. 

And it changes again and she is still in the horrible cold place. The boy is gone. The monster is still there, and troopers, but they are only clones. Not like hers. There is a girl there now, in a long white dress, and through a window she sees Alderaan. 

And then she doesn’t anymore.

She falls to her knees. 

“Stop.” She cries. “Why are you showing me this?!” She has no who she is speaking to. 

And now she is back on Tatooine and standing before her is Anakin, his back to her, but she knows it is him. “Ani!” She cries.

He turns to her, his face pensive. He smiles.

“Hello angel.” His voice so soft, almost a whisper. 

She stood and looked up into his eyes.

“Anakin what’s going on?” He looked down.

“I had to show you these. Padme….. The boy, the girl-they’re ours. Our children.”

“I gathered that Anakin.” There was so much pain in his voice she noticed.

“Twins. One for Light, one for Dark. What you saw, that was supposed to happen. It won’t. I know what Obi-Wan told you Angel. I can’t come back yet. That man,” He shudders. “That’s  _ me _ . He’s inside me. The Darkness, it’s a part of me.” He looks morose. “A part of our daughter too. But she’s like you, she can control it. I...I can’t. Not yet. Not yet.” Padme felt tears in her eyes. “I  _ will  _ return. But I cannot say how long I’ll be. I’m sorry love.” He reached out to stroke her cheek. “I’m so very sorry.”

She wept. She wanted to pound her fists on his chest, to scream at him. She couldn’t. She could only cry as he held her. 

She awoke tears still in her eyes. 

* * *

 

_ Tell me the story about how the Sun loved the Moon so much he died every night to let her  breathe. _

She was recounting the dream to Ahsoka when it happened. It felt like a muscle spasm, but more painful. She struggled to catch her breath.

“Ahs-” She groaned in pain. “Soka. Call a med droid.”

Ahsoka did not keep a very calm head, and Padme grinned to herself, the former Padawan was constantly reminding her of Anakin. 

The whole thing was a blur, she was sweaty and in pain. Someone was holding her hand, Obi-Wan maybe? In the corner of her eye she thinks she sees Anakin, though he looks noncorporeal. An infant is brought before her, a boy they say.

“Luke.” She breathes out. And then she is pushing again, screaming, wishing it was Anakin holding her hand. They bring the girl, her eyes wide open, like the newborn was taking in the world around her.

“Leia.” She says. And then she is just crying, wishing Anakin were there. 

The children are beautiful. The boy was born with light hair and blue eyes, looking so much like his father. The girl was a mop of dark curls and brown eyes. Leia had her eyes open, looking with eyes far too aware for a newborn.

Ahsoka steps into the room, she had almost fainted during the birth so Rex escorted her out. 

She gasps. 

“I...I can  _ feel  _ them.” Ahsoka looks at the tiny and wrinkled creatures Padme is holding. “In the force I mean… It’s like  _ burning _ …” And Ahsoka’s blue eyes fill with tears. “May I? Hold her that is.” She motions to Leia and Padme hands her off, too tired to pay much attention. 

“That’s Leia.” Padme says. 

“ _ Leia. _ ” Ahsoka’s voice is filled with such wonder. She looks at Padme. “She going to be my padawn.”

Padme blanches. Obi-Wan takes the children and shushes Ahsoka out. He puts the children in their bassinets. 

“Padme I know you need your sleep and recovery, but I’ afraid I must inform you of something. A mission actually, that Anakin assigned us. We were supposed to leave this week, but well, now that the children have come early….what I mean to say is..” Obi-Wan was babbling.

“Go Obi-Wan. I’ll be okay, and I won’t be alone. My sister and mother are coming. Thank you though, for asking.”

“Anytime.” He left with a smile and Padme finally nodded off to sleep.


	8. Ahsoka II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note-Padme gave birth in Naboo. I forgot to state it directly in her chapter. She's in the Lake House.

_ We were all innocent victims once upon a time. _

 

Padme was on Naboo, the babies were due soon. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka were joining her, of course, they were family and protectors. It was unlikely that an attack upon Padme would happen now, with the war over, with the Chancellor dead, but Obi-Wan  _ insisted _ . Such a mother hen. 

The first night there she had a dream. 

_ She was in a small shop, in a dry, hot place she recognized as Tatooine. There was a boy there, blonde, with sky blue eyes. And blue alien who looked like a bug. He was berating the boy, saying terrible things, but the boy was unfazed. The boy looked her in the eyes. _

_ “It was worse at the Hutt’s.” He told her. _

Ahsoka woke up. She knew very little about her former Masters past, he did not share. Not for the first time she was curious though. 

She is overcome with a burning desire to see Anakin. To know why he left her. She tries to find him through their bond, but he never responds. 

The dreams continue.

In one she sees a woman with dark hair and eyes weeping, clutching her stomach, so very afraid. 

She didn’t want to worry Padme, and Obi-Wan was going through his own problems, so the only person she really talked about things with was Rex. 

Rex was her best friend, and she loved him. He was family. 

She had missed him while she was gone. She regrets leaving, not the Order, but her family. Anakin and Padme, Rex and all of 501st. Her heart grew dark thinking of what happened to Tup. 

She was grateful the war was over, but she wished she was with Anakin. 

Rex couldn’t totally understand.

She felt Anakin every single day, because of Padme. The baby inside her had such a similar force signature to her former master that it caused her so much pain.

* * *

 

_ Don’t want to let you down but I am hell bound.  _

 

“You saw Anakin?” Ahsoka tried to hide the pain in her voice. Padme reached out and held Ahsoka’s hand comfortingly. 

“Just briefly. The things he showed me….I almost wish I hadn’t seen him. It makes it so much harder. Knowing he might not ever return.” There was so much pain radiating off of the senator.

“He  _ will  _ return to us, I know it.” Ahsoka says it so confidently, so maybe she will believe it herself too. Suddenly Padme groaned in pain, her hands clutching her stomach. 

“Ahs-” Padme groans again, Ahsoka’s eyes go wide. “Soka. Call a med droid.” 

“Right, yes, of course Med Droid. Uh...Med Bay! That’s where we need to go, right?” Padme nods, grunting. Ahsoka pages the droid, struggling to remain calm. She pages Obi-Wan as well. 

Obi-Wan goes into the room, holding Padme’s hand. Ahsoka does not follow. She feels a million things at once, it’s quite overwhelming. She mediates instead. 

_ ‘Hey Snips.’  _ Ahsoka whips around and faces her Master. He is blue-ish, and see-through, very non-corporeal. 

“Anakin…” She whispers, awe in her voice. He smiles. 

_ ‘You look good Snips, very grown up.’  _ There is pride in his voice and she blushes. 

“What are you doing here Skyguy?” She asks. He smiles at her. 

_ ‘I’m here because I need your help actually Ahsoka.’  _

“I should have gotten that recorded.” She makes a weak attempt to joke around. “But of course I’ll help you Master.”

_ ‘Good. You might want to sit down though, we have a lot to cover.’  _

* * *

 

_ I’m coming to burn your kingdom down. -Florence and the Machines _

 

Ahsoka thinks human babies are gross. Not that she has a large amount of experience with any other babies, except Stinky. There were the young children in the temple, but they were not like these creatures she sees before her now. 

They were red and wrinkly and gross. 

And yet the Force is shining so bright from them. Singing to her. 

She holds the little girl, Leia, with eyes like her mother and a force signature like her father, the Force seems to completely surround them. 

“She’s going to be my padawn.” Ahsoka holds so much awe and wonder in her voice. Obi-Wan lays the children down and shushes Ahsoka out, a disapproving look on his face. 

He closes the door to speak to Padme. Ahsoka shrugs and looks at Rex. 

“I’m leaving soon Rexster. Got myself a mission.” Rex smiles at her.

“I don’t suppose this is one I could tag along, sir?” He knows he can’t. She smiles. 

“I’m sorry. It’s gotta be me. Anakin’s orders.” 

“And since when do you listen to the General?” Thy chuckle at that. 

“He’s not a General, Rex, the war is over.” He looks her, his golden eyes boring into her blue ones.

“That’s the thing, sir, there’s always a war on.” 

And they stand there, looking into each others eyes for what feels like forever. She moves her head up and they become closer, their lips reaching for each other….

And then Obi-Wan walks out and they jump apart. 

“I….I better go pack my things.” Ahsoka says quickly, pushing past them, running to her room. She jumps on her bed, breathless. 

_ What was that?  _ She thinks to herself. 

 


	9. Chapter Nine: Fives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took so long to post this!! I'm still alive, real life just got in the way for awhile. It's a short chapter, but the next one will be longer I swear. This is more of an interlude.

_ We deserve a quiet refrain. We are good people and we’ve suffered enough.  _

The war was over, at last, and most of the surviving clones were assimilated into regular jobs, on various planets. Not 501st though. They all stayed, for their general and commander. While Rex and Commander Tano were out looking for the general Fives and Kix watched over the Senator. 

They, and all of the  _ vod’e _ , owed the general and his ‘secret’ wife their very lives. Especially Fives himself. 

It was the general who found him after Tup died. He said he had a dream… Of the troopers attacking the Jedi. Fives figured out it was a chip in their brains, and the senator arranged to have it taken out. 

Fives felt his scar on his temple, los in his memories. 

It was then that there was a knock on his door. He frowned, all of his brothers from the 501st would just enter without knocking. He opened the door and there stood a face he hadn’t seen in at least a month. 

Ahsoka Tano. 

“Sir?” He was stunned for a second and then pulled her close for a hug. “How have you been? Working the captain up?” He asked in a suggestive voice. He succeeded in his goal, she giggled. He missed her laugh, he hadn’t heard it for so long. Not since before the attack on the temple, which seemed like forever ago now. She pulled away and lightly hit him on the arm. 

“Don’t be silly.” She smiled though. She hugged him again. “Mind if we come in?”

He steps back, nodding her in. 

“We?” It was then he noticed Ahsoka had someone with her. A young human boy, with light brown hair. “Yeah come on in. I feel like you’ve got a lot to explain.” 

“You got that right big guy.”

* * *

 

_ Life is not kind, but I am and that makes life so much more complicated.  _

“No. No. No, sir, I love you, but no.” 

“ _ Please  _ Fives, I need your help. Rex is helping take care of the babies on Naboo and really there’s no one I trust more than you.” She pleads, batting her eyes. 

“Yeah, but I can’t watch a kid! I’m not ready for that level of responsibility, are you crazy?” Fives rubs his temple, looking at the boy sitting on his couch. 

“It’s just for a couple days while I meet up with Skyguy, it’s important.” She bats her eyes and he’s just  _ helpless _ . He looks at the boy again. 

“Just for a couple days?” He asks. She grins so wide, knowing that she won, and he pretends he even had a chance. She hugs him and plants a kiss on his cheek. He tries not to blush. “Hey now, better be careful or our Captain will get jealous.” He jokes, his own jealousy buried deep inside. Now it’s her turn to blush. 

“I-uh, I mean, Rex and I, we  _ aren’t _ , not that I-” She stammers. He laughs.

“Calm down commander, it’s just a joke. Now tell me about this kid of yours. Didn’t peg you as ready to settle down quite yet.” She shrugs.

“I don’t know really, Skyguy gave me some cryptic vision telling me he was important, he’s an orphan from Corellia. Name’s Han Solo, and don’t you go corrupting him!”

 


	10. Obi-Wan II

_ I am not afraid of the world ending. It has ended for me many times and began again in the morning.  _

Obi-Wan was a Jedi master, he even had a spot on the council. He was raised by the Order, and for over thirty years he believed in them with his whole heart. 

But war….. war changes people. It dehumanizes them, and the Jedi were not exempt from this. They had changed, all of them, and not for the better. 

Now he is standing in front of the Jedi council, just days after the birth of the Senators children.  _ Anakin’s children _ . All he could think of was all the people they failed to save. So many clones dead, so many Jedi dead, and what they had done to Ahsoka. They hadn't even apologized to her. 

And Anakin… they failed him too. They turned him into a weapon and told him to find peace. 

The image of Shmi Skywalker flashed through his mind, just the image the Son had shown him, with her tortured, suffering, crying for her own son. Her son that he had taken away. 

“Much turmoil in you I sense.” Yoda finally said, after what felt like decades of silence. Obi-Wan bows his head. 

“Yes, Master Yoda.” He replies.  

“Worried about your former padawan, are you?” He asks, but Obi-Wan knows Yoda can feel the truth.

“No, Master. I have much faith in Anakin.” He looks around the council. 

_ I have always trusted him,  _ He thinks,  _ far more than any of you. _

“Yet we sense fear in you, Master Kenobi.” The voice was soft, not judgemental. Obi-Wan faces the speaker, Jedi Master Kit Fitso. “We cannot help but wonder what causes this, if not for Knight Skywalker.” 

“I must admit, I am concerned for the fate of the Jedi Order, and the Republic. I feel….this war has scarred us too greatly, tarnished us and we may never again be what we were.” He speaks with great dignity, every word reminding them why his nickname was The Negotiator. “We have lost our ways, haven’t we? The Order was meant to bring peace to the galaxy, and yet look at the suffering. We do nothing for those who suffer in the Outer Rim, or even right here in the slums of Coruscant.” How had he lived this long and not felt the screams of the starving children in this city? Or had he ignored them. He remembered that Anakin said he couldn’t ignore them. 

( _ ‘I feel them all, every death on the field. I can’t stop! Every single person in pain, I can feel it, just make it stop!’ _ ) And he, so unprepared to train the Chosen One, had told him to just release it into the Force. 

“We are not all powerful Master Kenobi, we cannot help everyone.” It was Master Windu that spoke. Obi-Wan looked him in the eyes, trying to get a sense of what the Master was feeling. He could sense a cold, mildly angry feeling. 

“No. You are right, I will not deny that. But I have become more in touch with the Force, thanks to my former Padawan, and I now understand him more. We squabble over politics and religion while the galaxy suffers for it.” 

“I agree with Master Kenobi,” The voice that speaks up is Master Mundi. “Our main goal has been serving the Republic, but it should be the people, it should have always been.” Obi-Wan smiled at the Master Jedi.

“Thank you Master Mundi.” He nods gratefully. “I, personally, would like the council’s permission to go on a mission to a small outer rim planet to help the people with their corrupt farce of a government. If I succeed then that will prove that intervention is necessary. However, I will go without council permission.” 

“And you would go alone Master Kenobi?” Master Plo Koon asks. 

“A Jedi is never alone.” He replies. “But no, I will bring someone.” 

“Dangerous, this plan is. Die, civilians could.” Yoda says. “But, made up, your mind is. Vote, shall we?” 

Masters Plo Koon, Kid-Adi-Mundi, Yoda, and Kit Fitso voted yea. Masters Mace Windu, Saesee Tiin, and Depa Billaba voted nay. The rest were undecided. 

“Go then, you shall.” Obi-Wan bows his head.

“Thank you masters.” But he does not move to leave. 

“Something else you need?” Asks Yoda. Obi-Wan breathes in. 

_ Now or never. _ He thinks. 

* * *

  


_ There is no good or evil, only what a person can stand.  _

He sits in the ship, waiting for her. Ahsoka comes to him with a smile on her face. She was dressed in a black suit, with leggings and long sleeves, very different from the soft, flowing dresses she wore on Naboo. It seemed Padme had given Ahsoka a love for fashion on par with the Senator herself. 

“Everything ready Master?” She asks. 

“We are cleared to take-off.” He answers. He knows she understands what he really means. 

As the ship leaves he puts it into auto-pilot, after putting in the coordinates. 

“Did you find the child?” He asked, but he knew the answer. 

“Yes Master. He was on Corellia, just like Skyguy said he’d be. Fives is probably teaching him bad habits as we speak.” Obi-Wan smiled, picturing the former trooper with a young boy. 

“I have something for you Ahsoka.” He says quietly. She furrows her brow, surprised. 

“A gift?” She asks. 

“Of sorts. Merely returning something to it’s owner.” He hands a bundle to her. She unwraps he cloth to find her lightsabers. Her blue eyes widen. 

“Master…..I can’t… I’m not a jedi.” She stutters, trying to hand them back. 

“They are yours, Jedi or not.” She holds them close to her chest.

“Thank you Master.” She breathes, tears in her eyes. He returns to the cockpit, ready to pull the ship out of hyperspeed. Ahsoka joins him, dressed for the climate of the planet, her sabers on her belt. 

Obi-Wan sighed as they descended. 

“I must admit I never wanted to return to this place.” He says. Ahsoka laughs.

“C’mon Master, Tattooine isn’t  _ that  _ bad.” 

  



	11. Anakin II

_“A monster that refused, sometimes, to behave like a monster. When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else?” ― Kristin Cashore_  
Anakin Skywalker had been to almost every planet in the galaxy, albeit for awhile just for the war, but he had seen a lot of beautiful things. He had seen waterfalls and so many colors he hadn’t even known existed as a boy on Tattooine, but nothing, nothing, compared to the sight of his family. Using the power of the Living Force he managed to see the birth of Luke and Leia, and even reach out to Ahsoka. When he saw their tiny little faces the Force was singing. He saw the kind man that was his son and the brave general that was his daughter.   
He had suffered so much in his short life, been betrayed in ways that still hurt, and he knew without a doubt he did not deserve any of it. He does not deserve Padme, who has only ever loved him, who only saw the good in him. His thoughts of her were marred by the vision of him choking her-killing her. He does not deserve his daughter, who, despite his torture was strong and resilient even facing the destruction of her home. Or Ahsoka who had come back for him. And most of all he knew he did not deserve his son. Luke was so much like his mother, bright and pure. Luke believed in Anakin, had saved him even when he was beyond saving.   
How could he go back there? How could he possibly face his destruction and redemption? The man he might have been, the man he still might become. His destiny loomed ahead of him, dark and ominous. Love had saved Anakin Skywalker and he hoped love would save him again.

 _War doesn’t determine who is right, it determines who is left._  
“I'm sorry mom. I couldn't protect you, I couldn't save you. But I promise I'm going to do what's right. I'm going to make the galaxy a better place.” He was kneeling before her grave, his voice thick with tears. The war for the Republic was over, but a new war was just beginning. Anakin was going to do what he had always vowed to do. He was going to free the slaves. Each and every one of them.

  
 _But oh my heart, was flawed I knew my weakness. So hold my hand consign me_ not to darkness.   
In his visions he had seen his daughter strangle Jabba the Hutt with the chain he had kept her in before destroying his palace. It was a poetic justice, and no less than he deserved. The Hutts ruled the Outer Rim, trading slaves and spice. They needed to be brought to heel.   
Anakin was still fighting inside of himself, the light and dark warring for control. The former Slave in him was desperate for vengeance, but he was a Jedi and he knew he could no longer let anger guide his actions. He had compiled evidence against Jabba, bringing to light his crimes against the Republic. Obi-Wan And Ahsoka were to bring him in, Anakin knew he could not be impartial. He hated this cursed planet. He could not wait to be rid of it forever. Bail Organa had arrived to reconfigure the government on Tatooine, and it was time for Anakin to return to the Council, to bring much needed change and wisdom to the Jedi. Anakin had a heavy heart. He longed for his wife, every day without her was agony, he wanted to get to know his children, and yet, he was so afraid. Afraid that he would ruin them. He spoke with Padmé on the Holo almost every day, relishing in her and in the updates on the twins. His beautiful children, almost a year old were the most important thing in his life. He had to make the world better, for them. For their children. For his legacy.


End file.
